October 7, 2011

The House Natural Resources Committee on Wed., Oct. 5, passed a slew of legislation, including two water bills which will now move forward to the full House for consideration.

The water-related bills are H.R. 2578 by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-19), to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River in California, and H.R. 2842 (Rep. Scott Tipton, R-CO), The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011. 

On October 3, HR 470, the Hoover Power Allocation Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Joe Heck (R-UT) and lead cosponsor Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-38), passed out of the House of Representatives.

Having recently received over 5,000 unique comments, including ACWA’s, on its proposed Guidance to expand Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction, EPA is quietly getting the word out that it is now working with the Army Corps on a CWA jurisdiction rulemaking. In doing so, EPA officials are confirming most of the comments included a request to conduct a rulemaking instead of finalizing the Guidance.

Participants in the California Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) conducted numerous briefings and meetings in Washington, DC this week. A congressional briefing for members of the California delegation was held, as well as visits to the Army Corps, Department of Interior and Office of Management and Budget at the White House.

During the briefings, the new timeline for decision making was outlined as well as the new task force approach begun by the Brown administration to engage local stakeholders. The BDCP group conducted similar briefings in DC last February. 

The Bureau of Reclamation held a stakeholder meeting in Washington, DC this week. Commissioner Michael Connor started the meeting with an update on budget items, pending grants through the WaterSMART program, and progress on California water issues.